Isro to offer technology to boost fishermen's livelihood, save lives at sea

Fishermen will get information on locations with higher fish populations and alerts on natural calamities, and will also be able to send messages from sea to their families back on land

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has developed a device that would help boost the livelihood of fishermen, address safety issues and allow them to communicate with their families back on land. Besides, Isro would also help Goa Tourism reduce the number of deaths at sea.

Speaking on the sidelines of World Space-Biz, organised by Isro and CII, Nilesh Desai, deputy director, SAC confirmed that Isro's Navigation Satellite would help in these initiatives.

Fishermen will get information on locations with higher concentration of fish and alerts about cyclones or other natural calamities, and will also be able to send messages to a hub, from where the communication would be passed on to their families. The device will also warn fishermen about their proximity to international borders.

The technology that has been developed can be transferred to companies, which can manufacture the devices for end users. Till now 2,000 devices have been manufactured and will be handed over to fishermen shortly.

The device currently costs around Rs 3,500, but states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala have agreed to subsidise them.

Some of the coastal states have shown interest in procuring these devices for their fishermen communities. Isro is also reaching out to all coastal states through National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).